1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multilayer electronic component and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a multilayer electronic component such as a multilayer ceramic capacitor is made of a sheet laminated body formed by superimposing a plurality of ceramic green sheets each including an internal electrode.
In such a multilayer electronic component, a step generated with respect to another part due to a thickness of the internal electrode cannot be ignored as the number of laminated layers is increased. That is, a step due to presence/absence of the internal electrode is produced between a lamination region including a margin portion on which the internal electrode is not printed and a lamination region including the internal electrode. Such a step induces a crack or delamination at the time of baking, which can be a factor of deteriorating characteristics of a product or reducing a process yield. Thus, there is known a technology which prints a ceramic paste around an internal electrode to form a step absorption layer, thereby eliminating the problem of the step (see Patent Reference 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-358036).
However, at a ceramic paste print step, there actually occurs displacement, expansion/contraction or the like of a print pattern. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4 of Patent Reference 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-76958), a step absorption layer gets onto an upper surface of an internal electrode or a gap is generated between the step absorption layer and the internal electrode.
In regard to this problem, the technology described in Patent Reference 2 sequentially shifts a print position of the step absorption layer by a predetermined distance in a predetermined direction in accordance with each ceramic green sheet to avoid a concentration of pattern misalignment on a specific position.
However, the technology described in Patent Reference 2 requires control or management of a print shift quantity, thus resulting in complicated manufacturing steps.
Further, FIG. 1 of Patent Reference 3 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-269325) discloses a configuration in which an internal electrode on a ceramic green sheet has a shape having an inclined surface as seen from a lamination direction and a step absorption layer is superimposed and formed on the entire inclined surface of the internal electrode.
However, in this configuration, when displacement or expansion of a print pattern is generated when printing the step absorption layer, the step absorption layer gets onto an upper surface of the internal electrode. When the step absorption layer gets onto the upper surface of the internal electrode, a problem of delamination occurs.